To the OP. It doesn't matter that Lulu can hunt. That is what she evolved to do naturally. The point I was trying to make is, if left to breed indescriminately (sp) all dogs would eventually end up looking like Lulu. To me it is important to preserve the breeds. Why breed outside of standard if a breed has a standard? That is a question I now pose to you.

Ashlea, first off let me just say I'm not that up on posting on boards and I'm thinking that OP stands for original poster. If not everyone please disregard this post... I know it is very important to many people to preserve breeds of dogs. For some only the look matters for others function and looks are important and still others only function. By your post " It doesn't matter that Lulu can hunt" I'm guessing you are in the looks camp. A different camp still really doesn't think any of that matters and companionship is most important(maybe not a group, maybe only me). It seems each of these groups believes their goal for breeding is most important and it is highly unlikely anyone will be switching sides soon. hence the pointlessness of this thread going on. In answer to your direct question I can only say hunting dogs, police dogs ect.. need to be bred for other quality's other then show standards. If a dog is a great hunting dog it dose not matter if he has a weird shaped tail

Nope, I am in for function and looks, I own a border collie and a very poorly bred rescue papillon. Lulu was my foster. When I said it doesn't matter that she can hunt I meant it was irrelevant to the point I was trying to make.
I know what you are trying to say, what I am trying to say is, if there were not breed standards we would end up with no more purebreds looking like they are meant to.

It's not just looks and function (original purpose), but temperament as well. A golden retriever does not have the same temperament as a collie or a doberman or a husky. Each breed is perfect for someone; indiscriminate breeding would destroy the differing "personalities" among the breeds. Indeed, labradors and golden retrievers are so popular that there are many BYB- and puppy-mill-produced dogs that don't have the correct temperament and tend to have behavioral and aggressiveness problems.